Little Boy Lost
by Eva McGregor
Summary: Rodney McKay adopted an orphaned baby while living in Japan, 16 yrs later he is just getting to Antarctica when he discovers the worst thing imaginable has happened to his child, Atlantis is their only hope to heal, but is it? features BTVS. AyaxRonon


Little Boy Lost

Eva McGregor

WK/SGA/BTVS with mentions of Eureka

Summary: While doing his post-graduate research in Japan, twenty year old Rodney McKay liked to spend his time in the local hospitals nursery holding new born babies to reassure himself of human's goodness. After a particularly frustrating day he is given a three day old orphan boy and instantly falls in love. Sixteen years later, Rodney is raising his son Aya the best that he can while working for a secret government project. But with Atlantis looming in the horizon the last thing he expected was to discover accusations against his son being his prostitute, or of the would-be pimp being Aya's rapist boyfriend. Cut to Atlantis, the small family hopes to put the past behind them and allow Aya to heal. But that all changes in an instant.

WARNING: the rating of this fic is for subject matter, while the contents of the fic are normally of a lower rating I personally feel the subject of rape is not something that should be read by a younger audience, reader beware. The subject of rape is not something to be taken lightly in any circumstance and I have tried to remain sensitive to the subject to show no disrespect to true victims out there. Anyone that has read my fics knows I mainly write angst drama with splashes of absurd humor, so please take my warning to heart if such subjects are not your cup of tea.

A/N: this fic would not leave me alone; my first idea of it was actually Xander Harris as an FBI agent doing the same as Rodney McKay in the fic. However, Rodney bullied his way into the starring role which helped move this fic along rather nicely. Most of the characters from SGA are featured (including several that actually don't show up until season two), and while most of the WK characters are also in the fic, they are basically on a mentioned basis. This fic mostly centers on Rodney and Aya; so it is a SGA fic crossed with WK that just so happens to have a few BTVS characters as support.

A bit of an important note, anyone that is familiar with my fics know that sometimes I have a cannon character be a bad guy, I don't bash for the sake of bashing because I don't like a character- usually when I don't like them I just don't feature them- in this case the chosen bad guy is Yohji Kudou from WK. on Yohji's part I thought him up as the bad guy as a question of what would happen to such a personality when faced with an upbringing of never having to face consequences and having that person turn into exactly what this version of Yohji became. The sad thing is that for every type of upbringing there is, there will always be the positive and the negative outcome. Yohji isn't the only bad guy either but the others might not be as straightforward, just as the victims aren't always straightforward. With that in mind also note this fic is AU with a little sprinkling of SGA epi 1 cannon.

Spoilers for SGA S1Epi1 "Rising" and tidbits from later epis.

Thanks to Vanessa my wonderful beta.

Now on with it.

888

Little Boy Lost

Eva McGregor

888

Tokyo, Japan

At age twenty Rodney McKay spent a year in Japan doing post-graduate research before starting his dual doctorates in astrophysics and mechanical engineering. Still ideological- although he had long since become cynical of most social graces, finding them pointless most of the time- he had a ritual he performed when he was feeling particularly disconnected from the world. The hospital knew him and the nurses had a set of scrubs in his size hidden in one of the cupboards for his visits (since his size was so hard to find if not carefully watched out for). They could gage his mood by the tilt of his mouth and the compression of his full lips and knew what he would most likely need to feel a little better.

Today it was a three day old.

Sitting in a rocking chair in the neonatal ward Rodney gently rocked the infant while feeding him from a tiny bottle. This room was meant for those babies that otherwise would never be held in the first weeks of their little lives. The room meant for mothers to use was across the hall. No, this room was for the abandoned, the unwanted, and the unseen. These children would likely not live to adulthood, and no one would care if they did. The only reason there was a room for them at all was because someone rich had done exactly what Rodney was now doing and felt that someone should at least hold the poor little souls at some point. So Rodney came and held the babies that would otherwise never feel love.

"Poor baby," the nurse said softly, gently taking the bottle from Rodney to allow him to pat the tiny body; this baby was unique, with red hair and blue-violet eyes. Rodney had learned that while in America the baby could be adopted in an instant, in Japan that was not necessarily true.

"He doesn't look like some of the other babies I've seen," Rodney commented, noting that while the baby was small, he showed no signs of alcohol or drug syndrome.

The nurse shook her head. "Parents died in a car accident. Mixed race. Poor baby has no family."

Rodney looked down at the infant now sleeping peacefully in his arms. The baby was small, likely premature due to his mother's death. Another little life that due to circumstances outside of his control, was rejected, unwanted. And even though he was healthy and without the stigma of drug or alcohol abuse that may or may not lead to problems down the line, because of the stigma of being of mixed race, there was the chance that he too would remain rejected.

Rodney wasn't sure. He'd heard stories, but he wasn't sure if that was truly true.

He didn't care.

Three days later, six days into this little life, Rodney was the proud new parent of Aya McKay.

888

Sixteen years later

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Aya McKay stood in the guard room waiting for someone to come get him. His ID got him as far as the first level of the Cheyenne Mountain compound, but he would still have to wait.

He was used it. At least once a month he took a cab, then sat for an hour in the guard room doing homework. The guards knew him by now and always had a soda on hand for the long wait while his father finished his work. Then they would drive back down the mountain, have dinner, and watch a movie; but if Aya didn't travel all the way to the base, his father would forget.

Rodney McKay meant well; he was just very focused on his work. He provided everything needed for his son: the best school, extracurricular activities, other things needed for an active mind. He made sure he was there for all of Aya's important events; they went on an extended vacation for birthdays and Christmas, and spent free time together.

Rodney made sure he had time for his son, and that Aya knew he was important to his father.

When he was old enough to understand, Rodney had sat Aya down to explain to him that he was adopted. Rodney made sure Aya knew that he was not a thrown away baby, and though Rodney knew nothing about his parents, was certain that they would have loved Aya very much had they lived. Rodney told Aya how he was the first person other than a nurse or doctor to hold him and how, from the moment the three day old was first laid in his arms, their fates were sealed. Aya had suspected he was adopted, but was reassured to know that he was not as unfortunate as a friend, who had discovered that he was literally a thrown away baby.

Aya was certain that that was half the reason Rodney took so much effort to be there for his son. The other half was very obviously Rodney's parents, who almost disowned their son when he returned home from his trip to Japan with a six month old child that wasn't biologically his. Rodney went to school in the States shortly after and didn't speak to his parents until they saw reason.

Aya didn't meet his grandparents until he was almost ten.

"Ok," Rodney McKay said, entering the guard room with his normal book bag over his shoulder. "Let's go before they find a reason to keep me."

"So how slowly do you want me to pack up?" Aya asked, smirking at his father and ducked the swat at his head. He stuffed his book and binder in his school bag behind his folded uniform and stood.

"I need the time to think anyway," Rodney said with a shrug. He had been working on a project that was taking a lot of his attention, often forcing him to almost visibly make himself stop thinking about it to focus on his son. He had been late to Aya's soccer game the week before, and almost forgotten to mail out the invitations to Aya's birthday party next week. If he hadn't already bought the teen's present two months ago, he would have forgotten that as well.

"Can we rent a movie and get pizza?" Aya asked in the car as they drove toward Colorado Springs. "Stay in tonight."

Rodney spared a glance at the redhead teen, knowing that Aya was asking so that Rodney could lock himself in his office and work at any time if needed.

"It's ok Dad," Aya said, "I'm old enough that I understand that sometimes work is more important. I know you passed over other less time consuming jobs so I could have a steady place to live most of the time. Although Russia was really cool, and cold."

Rodney sighed. "If I continue with this project, it means I have to go away. I'm trying to get you clearance, but I might not get it in time. In fact there's a chance that I'm going to be called away at any time."

"To where?" Aya asked curiously. Usually, when his father had to go away, they sublet the apartment, put the important things in storage and went. Aya's school let him homeschool online when needed. He wasn't the only student that had parents who traveled and took their kids with them.

"Antarctica," Rodney said, "Which is why I've been stalling. I'm the only one other than Carter qualified to do the work, but it means I have to go away, or you go with me."

"Because then there would be no keeping me away from classified work," Aya said in understanding.

"This is why you aren't getting a car for your birthday like I had planned," Rodney said, nodding. "I'm really pushing for clearance."

"Wait," Aya said frowning, "What if I want the car?"

"Hush," Rodney said, rolling his eyes. "If I have to go away and leave you here, you can drive this one."

"Can I repaint it red?" Aya asked cheekily.

"This is why I'm stalling until they give into my demands," Rodney muttered.

"Is that a no?" his son asked.

"By the way," Rodney said as he pulled into a pizzeria that always had pizzas ready to go. "Why do I have a meeting with your school tomorrow?"

Aya froze, his hand gripping the door handle.

"What did you do?" Rodney asked, knowing that reaction was due to something he was going to be angry about.

Aya sighed and sat back in his seat, eyes down cast. "Can it at least wait until we get home?" he asked softly.

So it was something he was going to really be angry about. "You didn't blow up the lab again, did you?"

"I didn't do it the first time," Aya automatically argued.

"Did you do this?" Rodney asked.

Aya pursed his lips together. "Can we talk about this at home?"

"Yeah," Rodney said, now knowing what was coming. He could steel himself now so he wouldn't blow up at his son. He was known to make people cry with his temper and he tried not to do that with Aya.

When they got home Rodney had Aya set the table, then quickly made a salad. He talked about school and grades and his upcoming party. Aya wasn't sure if he was going to be having a party after his father learned what was going on at school though.

Finally, after dinner was finished and the dishes were drying on the rack, Rodney sat his son down on the couch.

"So," Rodney said, knowing Aya was not going to offer to speak first. "What happened?"

Aya stared at his hands. "Remember the blond you didn't like? Yohji?"

"I know you two were close for a while, then he vanished one day," Rodney said slowly. "What happened?"

Aya's chin tilted a little further down. "There's a reason for that."

Rodney frowned. So something major had happened, but like himself, Aya tended to keep certain things close to the vest. Last year Aya had come out, more or less, by getting caught making out with a boy from down the hall. But as far as Rodney knew Aya, hadn't dated.

"What did he do to you?" Rodney finally asked.

Aya lifted his head, his dark red hair shinning as brightly as the unshed tears in his eyes, "He told everyone we had sex and that for the right price, I'd sleep with anyone."

Rodney shot to his feet, "I'm going to kill him!"

"Dad!" Aya said standing as well. "Please don't make a big deal out of this."

"Why not?" Rodney demanded. "Did you sleep with him?"

The answer came shamefully: "Yes."

"What about the rest?" Rodney asked. He'd already had a feeling Aya and the idiot blond had had sex. "You're not sleeping around for money, are you?"

"No!" Aya snapped, offended.

"Then why not make a big deal?" Rodney asked. "He's trying to prostitute you! He's taking advantage of you. He already took advantage of you!"

"I knew it was going to be a one off thing," Aya said softly. "I knew he'd go away if I gave in."

"That is no excuse Aya," Rodney said, wrapping his hands loosely on his son's biceps. "Aya, honey. You're sixteen, you're a beautiful child. You're going to have the unfortunate life realization that you will never be sure if someone is taking advantage of you or not. If someone wants you for your looks, if someone is not going to take you seriously or is doing it for all the wrong reasons. I don't care if you knew the dumb blond was going to go away, he pressured you, then he humiliated you. No one does that to my family and gets away with it."

"Dad," Aya said, tears running down his face, "Right now it's just an asshole harassing me. But if you make a big deal about it, everyone will know part of it is true, and they'll assume the rest is too. It'll get worse."

Rodney sighed. "If I let it go, he'll just do it to someone else," he pointed out.

Aya pursed his lips together. "I'm sure he has, he's just being particularly vicious because I took so long to give in."

"We'll see," Rodney said, then hugged his son. "I'm not mad at you. But I'm not going to let this go. You're my son and someone needs to stand up for you."

"I love you, dad," Aya whispered, hugging back.

88

The next day Rodney stormed the school with a dozen lawyers. After Aya had gone to bed the night before Rodney had made a few calls, then called the General. He knew the SGC couldn't risk such a scandal involving a scientist, especially one that wasn't true. He had a feeling if Aya had been selling himself, the General would have very easily booted Rodney out of the program.

Luckily that wasn't the case and after General Hammonds hour long disbelief that Rodney could put up with a child, let alone voluntarily adopted one from birth, he agreed to have their best lawyers to bracket Rodney's.

Three hours later Yohji Kudou was expelled and the school was all, but begging to wave Aya's remaining tuition if only Rodney wouldn't sue. Of course Rodney was not going to allow his child to attend a school that believed a would-be pimp over a victim. Since the other schools in the area, even the private ones, they were out for the summer, Rodney would worry about a new school after he found out if he had clearance to take his son with him to Antarctica or not.

That was looking more likely by the moment.

Aya spend a week locked up in his room, mourning himself and everything done to him. Rodney spent nearly a hundred dollars on ice cream, all the toppings, and Godiva chocolate. Rodney left his son alone for a few days, having to hold meetings with General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill to explain to them exactly why he needed his son as his lab assistant.

Things were going well until Rodney got a call from the police on the third day of the talks.

"What is going on?" Rodney demanded, entering the Detective's office. "Why have you arrested my son?"

"Mister-"

"Doctor!" Rodney corrected.

"Doctor McKay," the Detective said, sighing, "We had a warrant to arrest your son for prostitution."

"Do you have proof?" Rodney demanded. "Because I've already gone through these false allegations at his school. Another student tried to pimp him."

"Rich bored kids like to play on the wild side," the detective said tiredly, "I've seen it a million times, they do it for the thrill, the danger."

"He didn't do anything!" Rodney shouted.

"Detective," Jack O'Neill said from where he stood in the doorway, wearing his dress blues, "What proof do you have?"

The detective grunted then brought up a file on his computer. Jack closed the door so the video could be viewed.

"That's the punk who did this to my child!" Rodney said, disgusted to get a clear hidden camera view of the blond having sex with his son. Thankfully, they were mostly undercover so nothing but naked backs could be seen.

"Yohji Kudou's parents came by this morning telling us that your son videotaped this interaction for money and was using it to black mail their son," the detective said.

"Did you investigate or assume everything was true?" Jack asked angrily. "That doesn't look like the bedroom of a sixteen year old. And I already know Yohji Kudou was expelled from his school for pimping and forcing himself on other male students. I'm assuming these allegations are retaliation."

"I spoke to the Dean of their school," the detective said. "She said they were both expelled."

"I removed my son from that school," Rodney said. "Where is your proof that my son made the tape or that he was black mailing or prostituting?"

"We decided to let your son go with a warning," the detective said without answering. "Maybe a few hours in a cell have done him some good."

"You'll hear from my lawyers," Jack said darkly. "Doctor McKay works on several classified projects; it would be unfortunate if someone used his son to get access to classified information because the police think he's the bad guy, not the victim."

"Are you threatening me?" the detective demanded, rising to his feet.

"Yes, I am," Jack promised. "Now go get Aya McKay and I really hope you think twice before you harass this family again."

"Thank you Colonel," Rodney said softly.

"Believe me," Jack said, "If he was guilty, I would have found a way to do horrible things to you."

Rodney nodded.

"Dad," Aya exclaimed entering the office and hugged his father tightly. "I didn't do it, I swear."

"My first charges against you will be falsely imprisoning a minor," Jack said to the detective.

"Maybe next time he'll think long and hard before flirting with the law," the detective said as Rodney led his son out of the office.

"We'll be in touch," Jack promised.

88

"Is it too late to go back to Colorado?" Aya asked, stuffing his gloved hands in his pockets. "It's very cold here."

"It'll be warmer in the living areas," Rodney promised.

A lot had happened in the last few weeks. General Hammond had retired, for good this time, and a civilian had been put in charge of the SGC for a few short days. Doctor Weir had almost rescinded Hammond's decision to let Aya be Rodney's research assistant, thus reading him into the program- although Aya was not allowed near the gate itself for security reasons. Weir had not been as understanding of what had happened to the teen and didn't want an incident, until SG1 had stuck up for the boy and assured her that he had been a victim, not perpetrator. Then Doctor Weir had been replaced by the newly promoted General Jack O'Neill while she went to head the Antarctica research project.

So she would become Rodney's boss once again, but at least now she was more understanding.

In the process Aya had canceled his party, knowing he wouldn't be able to face his so called friends and answer unwanted questions.

"Are you sure?" Aya asked, shivering.

"Yeah," Rodney said, "Our facility was created by Global Dynamic. We'll be getting gear once we've settled."

"Is that the place we lived just after you got your doctorate?" Aya asked, vaguely remembering a small odd town when he was seven. He had gained a dislike for science there from the way the other kids had acted because they were getting a better education from birth than the normal one his father strived to give him. Aya was by no means stupid, but he would never be at the same level as his adoptive family. What he had hated most about that town and the school were how complicated everyone made things that could be solved with a little simplicity. That had annoyed Rodney a lot too and they moved on to a project in Russia after a year.

They had moved around so often over the years that Aya made sure everything he had was small and portable, as he often had to share a room or live in a tiny space for months at a time. Everything irreplaceable he could fit in two bags, and often went through his things packing and repacking, to list what went where to maximize the number of things he could travel with. It also helped that every once in a while they had to be in a new place at short notice.

Colorado was the longest home they had had in years.

But Aya was alright with that. He got to see places others his age never got to, and when things got really bad, they could just move, although that happening had been rare. The last time they had to move like that was because of a school shooting and consequent nightmares until Rodney relocated them to Canada for a few years.

Unpacking his meager bags Aya put on the tan uniform with blue trim to show he was with the science team. The blue shirt underneath really was warm and regulated to his temperature by whatever means GD used to make ultra-light weight thermal gear. Some of the things invented there were only allowed to be used by those working on classified projects.

They were given the day to settle as their arrival time had been close to the marked end of the day. The next morning Aya followed his father on a tour of the labs before his appointment for a physical with Doctor Carson Beckett to test him for something called an ATA gene.

"It's less likely for the child to have the gene if the parents don't," Carson was saying as he took Aya's blood. "And this gene seems to be dominant from father to children."

"I never knew my parents," Aya told the doctor. "They died the day I was born. Dad likes to say he was the first non-medical personnel to hold me. Like we chose each other."

Carson smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "Maybe you did," he said and walked away with his sample.

Aya spent the rest of the day running errands for his father and a little Czech man named Zelenka, which mostly consisted of getting coffee and print outs from other labs. Since Aya wasn't a scientist and knew how his father liked his coffee, there was very little yelling involved.

The next day Aya's job changed for most of the time as it was confirmed that he was one of the few who had the ATA gene. Rodney provided Carson with all the medical information he had on Aya's birth parents for cross references.

"Just sit in that chair and think of the solar system." Rodney instructed Aya in week three after they had arrived after finally moving on to experiments with the chair.

"This isn't like 'now lay back and think of the Queen', is it?" Aya asked, giving the chair a wary look. "I went through that and it wasn't very fun."

Rodney rubbed his forehead, a sign he was on the verge of too much coffee and not enough sleep. "Nothing like that," he said gently, causing Radek to give him a curious look. "It's a visual exercise to see how well you can control the chair. If it works, a 3D model of the solar system will appear above your head."

"Oh," Aya said, then gingerly sat on the chair. He jumped up again, backing away when the chair tilted back and lit up. "Sorry."

Rodney blinked at his son. "Doctor Zelenka, can you give us a minute please?" he asked softly.

The small man blinked in further shock, but nodded and left them to go get coffee.

"Aya," Rodney said, rounding the table, and laid his hands on his son's shoulders. "What was that?"

"It just made me jumpy," Aya tried to assure him.

"Aya," Rodney tried again.

"Dad," Aya said, stepping away from his father. "It's over with, he can't hurt me anymore. He can't do anything to me. I just want to move on. Don't make a big deal about it, please."

Rodney sighed and drew his son into his arms, holding him tightly for a long time. "Go lay down," he said after a while. "We'll try again tomorrow."

Aya nodded, wiping his face of tears, and left the chamber.

"Why so nice?" Zelenka asked several minutes later, handing over a cup of coffee.

"He's my son," Rodney pointed out.

The little man snorted.

Rodney sighed. "Another kid at his school pressured him to have sex and then tried to sell him to other students. I think I just caught a glimpse that something more happened. Something he isn't telling."

"Ah," Zelenka said in understanding. "You love son very much. No, yelling at him."

Rodney shook his head. "Let's get back to work."

888

When Major John Sheppard arrived six months into their research and impressed everyone with his ability to use the chair, Rodney was wary. For one, thanks to the man they finally had a destination; Aya had come close, but not close enough. For another, the major posed the threat of being a handsome man with charm oozing from his pores; and while Rodney was confident the man would never view his son in a sexual manner, John Sheppard was still the same type that Yohji was.

As predicted, Aya avoided Sheppard like he was on fire. The teen made sure he had reason to be out of any room Sheppard was in at any given time, and although the major was only on base for a few days, the reaction was strong enough to be noticed.

Later they were back in the States for a weeklong vacation before they would go through the gate, possibly on a one way trip. Rodney had already insisted that if his son didn't go, he wouldn't go. He had never abandoned his child before, no matter what, and wasn't about to now.

John Sheppard showed up at the door while they were packing for storage and the journey. The cat had already been entrusted to a friend to send to Jennie. Sheppard looked around at the packed boxes with interest; most of them had been gathering dust for a while.

"Already packed I see," John commented, swiping a finger over a box.

There came a crash from the other room.

"Was there something you needed Major?" Rodney asked, ignoring the sound.

"Did I do something, Doctor McKay?" John asked, placing his hands on his hips. "Because I swear I've never touched a kid in my life."

"It's not you Major," Rodney tried to assure the man. "It's the type of person you are. Just give him time to get used to you."

John frowned, but nodded. "Need any help? I have basically nothing to pack."

Rodney frowned. "Hold on," he said, turning to the interior of the apartment and found Aya in his room, sitting on his bed and staring at the floor. A cheap vase Aya used when he found roses on sale at the nearby nursery, where he sometimes worked at, lay in pieces by his feet.

Rodney laid a towel from the bathroom over the glass, then knelt down in front of his son. "You didn't consent, did you?" he asked softly. "He forced you."

A single tear slid down Aya's cheek. "Not the first time," he said softly, "The first time I thought if I just gave in, he'd leave me alone. He was so nice at first I didn't listen to the others telling me what would happen, that he just wouldn't stop bothering me about it. And after, when I thought he'd leave me alone, he said he had a very lucrative business started and I was going to be his star. And every time there was that voice, that charm." He sobbed once. "He convinced a cop I was a whore. Then this man comes! What is he going to do!"

"Aya!" Rodney snapped, then sighed, putting his head down for a moment. "Maybe this is a bad idea. Obviously you aren't getting over it. We don't have to go. I can stay on and head the Antarctica project."

"That's why I don't want you to know," Aya cried. "You can't sacrifice what you've worked all your life for, for me."

"Aya," Rodney said, sitting down on the bed, and hugged his son tightly. "You are what I've worked all my life for. I might miss a great opportunity, but nothing is more important than you. We can move back to Eureka, I can deal with the idiots if it means you get help. That you're safe."

Aya held on tightly to his father, sobbing harshly.

"Yohji is a punk kid who gets his kicks hurting people," Rodney said after a while. "He is an anomaly, the outlier. It isn't the charm that makes the horrible person, horrible; it's how they use that charm."

"I'm sorry," Aya said softly.

"I don't blame you for being wary," Rodney promised, "I'm sure Major Sheppard doesn't either. Why don't we go and see if he's still here?"

Aya nodded silently.

John Sheppard sat on the living room couch and made no secret he had heard what had been said. He stayed seated when they entered the living room; he looked more troubled than he should have been.

"I'm sorry," Aya said to the man.

John shook his head, "Hey I want to find this kid and beat him to death, so you have nothing to be sorry for."

Aya nodded and looked at his father, "I really need to finish packing."

"I'll order pizza," Rodney said, watching his son go back to the room and gently shut the door. He sighed, running a hand over his hair. He turned to the major. "He was so little and innocent. Three days old, all alone. I couldn't let him become one of the other babies. His parents had done nothing but die. And there he was in my arms, his first real human contact." He looked at the man, "What did I do wrong that this happened to my little boy?"

"Nothing," John said and left it at that.

John stayed on the couch for the rest of the week.

888

Come the day of the mission to the Pegasus Galaxy Aya had three panic attacks before they reached the gate and Rodney almost called the whole thing off twice. Jack had taken one look at Aya and made Rodney tell him what was going on. Then John was almost not allowed to go on the mission until Jack was assured that Aya was used to the Major by now and wasn't as jumpy.

Jack did promise the little blond bastard was going to jail, even if it was an off world one.

After that Aya was given a sedative to keep him calm and given to the watchful eye of one of the younger marines as he sat in a corner, blinking owlishly.

Everything was a mad scramble. Colonel Sumner voiced his displeasure at the addition of Major Sheppard and nearly had a coronary at the realization that a teenager was also going. But he didn't have a say so he could do nothing more than bitch and moan. He did make promises that as Military leader of the expedition, he could not allow Aya anywhere, but public areas, and even then might confine him to quarters. Rodney threatened the man rather creatively and the matter was dropped.

"So," Aidan Ford said conversationally from where he stood guarding the teen. "What are you, like really twenty?"

"I'm sixteen," Aya answered. He looked mournful for a moment, a reaction to the sedative, "I missed my birthday."

"Er..." Ford said uncertainly, "Happy Birthday?"

"Stupid rapist ex- whatever the hell he was," Aya muttered, resting his chin on the palm of his hand and tilted sideways a little.

Ford blinked and looked around; wondering if the teen was insane.

"Hey," John said, coming to the rescue. He sat beside Aya on the crate and allowed the teen to lean against him.

"He did it to others you know," Aya said conversationally, "Had a whole list. Not sure how many he pimped out."

"Shhh," John said gently and rubbed a hand through Aya's hair, "Just sleep ok? I'll protect you from him. He can't travel to another galaxy to get you."

"Promise?" Aya asked in a heartbreakingly soft voice.

"Promise," John said, hugging the teen for a moment then let Aya slide down to rest his head on John's lap.

"Sir?" Ford asked uncertainly.

"He's been having nightmares," John explained. "Keep his business his."

Ford nodded and went back to guarding.

Aya was not the only young person to be going on the expedition. A young army ranger Captain by the name of Graham Miller, his charge, a younger brunette man named Alexander Harris, and Air Force Major Evan Lorne would also be attending the mission. Along with Ford each man was under thirty, and Xander- as Harris was called- was only nineteen. The three had the ATA gene or otherwise they wouldn't have been taking this journey.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the giant ring at one end of the former missile silo, started to move. A voice in the loud speaker announced each revolution of the ring like a giant rotary dialer. John knew the chevrons in the gate address were generally six, with at least seven for really long distances, but as the announcement reached seven and the ring kept moving, John got his first idea of just how far they were really going. He wondered if he could stay and if Rodney would let him adopt Aya.

The poor kid was not faring well.

"Alright," Rodney said, appearing out of nowhere. He frowned upon finding his son asleep, but shrugged and rearranged the various bags on his shoulders.

"I'll carry him," John offered when it became clear that Rodney would not be able to carry all the bags and his son. He shifted his bags to add Aya's, then carefully stood with the surprisingly light boy in his arms.

Only to have Aya taken from John by the brunette teen. "I'm not carrying a gun, I'm younger so I'll likely not kill myself, and people are generally not afraid of me," Xander Harris said with a grin, "Which sucks for them."

Rodney narrowed his eyes at the older teen, but Aya woke from his sedative induced sleep long enough to find out why he was suddenly a hot potato and then went back to sleep. "Ok, but stay close and don't drop him."

Harris rolled his eyes, but followed the scientist up the ramp, himself followed closely by Captain Miller.

The moment the four ATA gene bearers were on the other side of the gate, the room they had arrived in suddenly started lighting up. Rodney and Zelenka started swearing, in various languages depending on the man, and went to the closest console to find out what was going on. Interfacing their computers was quick as they had anticipated the need, then they started running a diagnostic.

"Oh crap," Rodney said pausing in his typing. He glanced over where Aya lay on a couch Xander had found with the older teen sitting next to him, staying out of the way. The others on the expedition had already started to explore the nearby room and put away the boxes upon boxes they had for the expedition. The gate was thankfully no longer active, but he would not have asked them to stop had it still been, because the damage was already done and they were going to need those supplies.

He needed to find Weir and Sumner.

It was quickly suggested that they start looking for a safe place to evacuate should the need arise and also pointed out that at least half the people with the Gene leave Atlantis because they were currently part of the problem. Rodney didn't want to, but he knew Aya would need to be one of the people to leave until things could be fixed. Lorne, Miller, and Carson would stay, but the others had to leave, and leave soon.

Still half asleep, Aya leaned against Xander as they walked away from the gate into a world shrouded in darkness. Xander had a bit of wood in his hand, much to everyone's curiosity except Miller and Lorne, who took everything in in stride. When they encountered the man Halling, then the woman Teyla, Aya decided to plaster himself to John instead as the strangers were really making him jumpy.

"What?" Aya demanded when John nudged him after telling Teyla he loved Ferris wheels.

"Tell them something about you so we can all be friends," John muttered, then gave Teyla a strained smile.

"My dad adopted me when I was six days old, then didn't speak to his parents for ten years when they told him to give me back," Aya told John.

"You listen to Emo too, don't you?" John asked, shaking his head.

"I'm not depressing," Aya said, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm sixteen."

"What's the difference?" John asked, smiling brightly.

"Oh for the love of…" Sumner said in exasperation, "We don't have time for this."

But Teyla said, "We have a tea we share every morning to bring on the new day."

"I love tea!" John said cheerfully.

Aya decided to stand next to Xander for the rest of the time on this world after all.

888

Hours later, and after a very interesting abduction by what Xander called blue vampires- whereupon he produced various weapons from his person and had a field day- they returned to Atlantis with the survivors of the Athosian world. John had felt guilty about having to kill Sumner, and even guiltier about waking the Wraith until Aya mentioned he had observed those large sleep chambers coming online just as John had vanished down the corridor looking for Sumner.

He might have had to kill Sumner out of mercy, but the rest was not John's fault.

8

"It's pretty." Aya told his father from where he stood on the balcony of the large two room suite they had found. The sun glistened off the ocean surrounding him, although there wasn't any slight movement that Aya would have associated with being on the water.

"I might become sea sick," Rodney complained from the open doorway to his room. Of course he got the larger room with the large private bathroom, but Aya was used to having the smaller room and sometimes no bathroom to himself at all. This room thankfully had a smaller (but still larger than he was used to) bathroom with a sunken tub and a shower. His bedroom was also as large as some master bedrooms on Earth, so he wasn't complaining about the size.

Graham and Xander had decided to share the two bedroom suite across the hall, leaving the other officers and department heads on the upper floor with the single room suites that were no less nice. Rodney theorized that there were many living quarters that catered to different sized families or single people all over the city.

Xander had joked they just needed a main area with a shopping center and casino and they'd be on Babylon 5. Apparently there would be a marathon playing over the next few weeks.

Rodney had decided Aya and Xander were not allowed to be friends as Aya might turn into a sci-fi nerd. No matter how much Aya promised it would never happen.

After unpacking Aya went to the mess hall while Rodney went to one of the labs to start tinkering with the various devices they had found. Once in the mess, however, Aya wasn't sure if he wanted to stay. The day before he had been mostly too asleep or too busy fighting for his life to care much about who was around him. But now that things had calmed down, he wasn't sure.

"Hello," a blond woman said, walking up to him. She stopped a safe distance away and smiled at Aya, "I'm Doctor Heightmeyer, the mission psychologist. Doctor Weir suggested that you might benefit from a few sessions."

Aya gave the woman a wary look. "Did she tell you why?" he asked, aware that a lot of adults shared private things about teens thinking they were helping.

"No, she didn't," Heightmeyer said, "I'm certain we can discuss that if you're willing. If not with me, Xander is closer to your age."

"Xander is a psychologist?" Aya asked incredulously.

"No, but sometimes it's not a psychologist that's going to help," Heightmeyer said gently. "My office is open when you are ready to talk," she said, patting his shoulder softly, and left the mess hall.

Aya looked back at the room and felt as if everyone was staring though he could see they weren't. Taking a deep breath he decided he would get his food and eat on his balcony instead. Grabbing a sandwich and water he made his way back to his quarters only to find the blond army ranger standing at his door, waving his hand over the chime.

"Can I help you?" Aya asked, stopping far enough away to run if he needed to.

The man jumped, then smiled shyly. "I'm delivering the remainder of people's boxes," he said, indicating the cart resting beside him.

"Just leave them and I'll get them in a minute," Aya said, taking a step forward again.

Captain Miller made to protest but just nodded and started putting boxed on the ground next to the door. "I should be back around in about fifteen minutes if you need help," he said and pushed the cart back toward the main sections of the city.

Aya watched the man go and sighed, silently cursing Yohji Kudou for making him so jumpy.

Entering the suite Aya set down his lunch on a nearby table and started dragging the heavy boxes into the living room. He didn't remember having this much packed, but figured his father had packed scientific equipment that was being delivered to the wrong place. But on further inspection Aya discovered several of the boxes were his. Shaking his head he turned to get the last box and jumped back with a scream upon finding Graham Miller once again in his doorway.

For his part Graham jumped as well, almost dropping the box in his arms and looked around startled.

Aya pressed a hand against his chest breathing hard. "I'm sorry," he said, franticly knowing that his reaction was a little much. "I just…"

"Someone hurt you very badly," Graham concluded.

"Is it that obvious?" Aya asked tiredly.

"The only other person I've seen jump that bad is Xander," Graham said, "I've lived with him for six months, so I don't know how obvious you are to others."

"The psychologist suggested I talk to Xander," Aya said, wondering if Xander had been hurt too, and if so, in what way.

"He's really good with people. Very big brother like," Graham said, entering the room slowly, and set down the box in his arms. "I do know that no matter how many people say it and how many times you're told no one will hurt you here, you aren't going to believe it until you are ready. But if you want to talk, Xander and I are always ready to listen."

Aya nodded slowly, "My dad doesn't know what to do," he said after a moment. "I'm just grateful he isn't blaming me. I had a friend whose parents blamed him. Like if he hadn't...been...it would never have happened."

"Very rarely is that actually true," Graham said gently, "No matter what happened. Very rarely was the victim asking for it. And usually in that case, they did ask."

"It's just the strangers," Aya said, "I'll be better when I get used to everyone."

"Don't lie to yourself," Graham advised, "If you try to make it go away, it just bottles up under pressure and explodes at the worst time. Trust me. I've had to buy new furniture enough times over the last year."

Aya gave him a tentative smile. "I meant I won't be as jumpy. I just don't know what they might do, though rationally I know they won't do anything."

Graham nodded, "Just remember, we're across the hall." He gave Aya a smile, then turned and left the room with none of the careful movements Aya had experienced from others that knew what had happened.

Aya sighed and sat down on the couch for a moment, then took a deep breath and grabbed his lunch to sit on the balcony as planned.

88

"Dad?" Aya said that night when he was getting ready for bed.

"Huh?" Rodney said, sitting at a table in the living room, typing away at his computer and sipping coffee (thanks to GD they had a never ending supply of most foods, such as coffee).

"I have an appointment to talk with Xander tomorrow," Aya said tentatively. "Doctor Heightmeyer suggested talking to him if I didn't want to talk to her, and Graham suggested Xander might understand more than anyone else, so I asked him if we could sit on the balcony and talk tomorrow morning."

Rodney set down his cup and turned to give his son his attention, a sure sign he was in fact listening, a lesson he learned after Aya had wanted to go to the museum alone when he was nine and assumed his father had heard him. A three hour missing child search later Aya had been grounded for a month and Rodney had learned to make sure to turn his full attention on his son when something was being asked. "Alright," he said uncertainly.

"Can you be here?" Aya asked softly.

Rodney opened his mouth to tell his son he had work to do in the morning, but the meaning of the statement caught up with him quickly. "Of course, I can work from here tomorrow morning."

Aya gave his father a relieved smile. "Thank you," he said, then went to hug his father before heading to his room. "Goodnight dad."

"Goodnight," Rodney said, still staring dumbfounded. Aya hadn't instigated a hug in months, not since what had happened to him. He slumped in his chair. Maybe his son was finally starting to heal.

888

During the first month of the expedition, Aya and Xander met every morning on the balcony to just talk. During the first week Xander had done all the talking, regaling Aya with tales of the Scoobies and their never ending fight against the forces of darkness. At first Aya had thought Xander was just making things up as a way to bond, but a few tentative questions to Graham confirmed that there were quite a few things Aya had been lucky enough not to encounter.

In the second week Xander told Aya how his friends had tried to get him out of the fight in a well-intended, but very wrong way. They had eventually understood what they were doing was not the way to go, and that they were hurting Xander more than they intended. It wasn't until Graham had had a few choice words with the group that they understood what they were doing. Xander had never been happier in his choice to roommate with the big blond.

Then in the third week Xander told Aya about his parents. It was then that Aya understood why doctor Heightmeyer had suggested he talk to Xander. If Xander had not made it clear that his abuse had been no more or less horrible than Aya's (since Aya's was over a shorter span of time), Aya might have decided that he had no reason to be as messed up as he was. Xander still had no idea what had happened to Aya, but he still made sure the young redhead knew he was no less a victim and entitled to his hurts.

So in week four, Aya told Xander and his father exactly what Yohji Kudou had done to him and admitted it had been continuing up until the school had caught wind of what was going on. Yohji had been raping him for months, videotaping it frequently and selling the tapes to a few choice pedophiles, and had been attempting to sell him to another student when a teacher finally caught wind of what was going on. He also told that he was not the only student this was happening to, and Yohji was not the only pimp. And a few of the victims were as young as twelve.

Rodney and Xander had been angry for days, but not at Aya, not even for not saying something. They understood why Aya was so scared to say anything. At least Xander understood Aya was afraid of being blamed for asking for it, and possibly disowned by his father, and explained to Rodney that it was all an irrational fear. Aya knew he wouldn't, but still feared it.

Aya still had a long way to go to full recovery but his sessions with Xander, and now Heightmeyer, had been changed to once a week instead of every day.

Somehow, through osmosis it seemed, everyone on base soon learned what had happened to their youngest member. Or if they didn't know outright, through their own deduction they at least knew something very horrible had happened to the sixteen year old. They knew no one on the expedition had been responsible and several suspected that the event was the reason why Aya was part of the expedition in the first place. Only one scientist had made any noises suggesting Aya was just seeking attention (thankfully not asking for it), but no one listened much to Kavanagh anyway.

Some treated him like glass. But there were the smart or experienced few that knew it was best that they treated Aya no differently than any other teenager.

For the first time in over a year Aya was starting to heal.

888

"Please dad?" Aya begged, following his father around the lab like an overly eager puppy.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Rodney said in lieu of what he would have said to someone that wasn't his son.

"Come on! Teyla will be with me the whole time. We're only going to be gone for an hour," Aya begged again. "Xander's been off base, I'm going crazy with boredom."

Rodney sighed and pursed his lip together, "If you leave Teyla's side for one second, you're grounded for the foreseeable future."

Aya squealed like a girl, and threw his arms over his father's shoulders. "Thank you, thank you!" he said, then bounced out of the room.

"And stop drinking my coffee!" Rodney called.

8

Teyla nodded politely to a stall owner, casting a glance behind her with a slight smile as the redhead teen- dressed as an Athosian for anonymity- followed close behind, looking around with curiosity. If anyone asked, which they wouldn't, Aya was a relative that was learning the trade so he could handle his own in a few seasons. He was curious enough to be a clansman that had never been off his world, but not so much that he gave himself away as someone that was truly an outsider.

She nodded to another stall owner, pausing to look at the grain he had to trade. She glanced over her shoulder at the teen standing at the end of the stall, inspecting what Sheppard had described as blue apples, then turned back to the stall owner to see if they could reach a bargain.

When she looked back again to check on Aya a few seconds later, the teen was gone.

8

"What do you mean gone!" Rodney shouted at the woman in hysterics.

"I looked away for a moment," Teyla said softly, her eyes down cast in guilt. "He did not walk away, I would have found him if he had. Whoever did this was well trained and knew the exact moment to take him and vanish before I could check on him again."

"Why would someone kidnap someone that looked like an Athosian?" Weir asked carefully, well aware that this situation could turn nasty and end the peace agreement Atlantis had with the Athosians.

"There are slave traders," Teyla said, "Aya is very striking, and red hair on a boy is very rare on most planets. I've never heard of the slavers going to high trade planets, but it's not impossible, and I picked a planet that does not tolerate such men through their gates. Either Aya is still on the planet or the guards met a price they could live with."

"Where would a slaver take Aya?" John asked, his hands in fists on the table. "Are there many places that we can't stake out and rescue him?"

Teyla looked sad, "There are only one or two places I know of, but slavers have been known to take their captives into hiding to break them. Those are places I cannot say. Unless Aya was taken by a caravan, there is no way of knowing where he is now or how long before the slaver comes out of hiding. The slave markets will notice we are waiting long before he surfaces."

"If Aya was taken by a slaver at all," Xander said, frowning deeply. "For all we know he was taken by someone whose tradition is to bash someone over the head and drag them back to their cave."

"Don't say that," Rodney said brokenly. "I should have never let him go without an army."

"You know that if there was a large escort with weapons, everyone would have been a bigger target and Teyla would never have gotten the bargain she would have alone," John said gently. "This was a fluke, Teyla was careful; she had no way of knowing someone would manage to take a teenager with really noticeable hair without her noticing. I'm going to have to say this is looking more and more like a slaver, a guy that was just looking for an easy bride would have made too much noise. A slaver would have been just like any other hunter, someone that could very easily be a ghost in a crowded market."

"I could have done it," Xander said. "I spent two years in Africa with only one eye; hunting things that make Wraith look tame. The kidnapper probably used the crowd, waited next to a stall that was next to an alley. He would have waited for the noise level to rise, maybe had another guy cause a scene in the other direction. Or waited for when the crowd had become really heavy. Aya isn't trained to know what to stay away from. He was probably giving Teyla a polite distance, or found something curious to look at. That's all a hunter would need, a moment of total distraction."

"He was looking at Kolla fruit," Teyla said in realization. "The blue apples, the stall owner had them at the end of the stall," she frowned. "Kolla fruit is quite expensive to trade; I don't see why the owner would have had such a rare fruit where it could so easily be stolen."

"I think I need to have a little chat with this stall owner," Xander said.

"Just try not to kill the man before he tells you where my son is," Rodney said, happy that they now had a plan.

888

Aya woke with a groan.

His head was pounding, half his body was too warm, the other too cold, and he was vaguely aware that his arms were outstretched above his head. Groaning again he blinked heavy eyelids slowly and tugged on his arms.

Then he blinked again, a little more awake, and tried to look up at his bound wrists.

"Hush pretty," a gravelly voice said from the direction of the warmth.

Aya turned his head to find a campfire and beyond that a dirty man sitting on a log, sharpening a knife.

"Won't get that big of a price if you're not pretty," the man explained. "No bruises," he flashed a grin, "Better priced for a trained slave. I so enjoy breaking young pretties for pleasure. You will get me a good price, pretty. I will enjoy training you."

"When my father finds you, he's going to do very bad things to you," Aya said, trying for bravado, but felt he was only sounding petulant. "Very creative, very bad things."

The man chuckled. "Rich and powerful is he?" he asked, setting down his knife and stood. "Maybe pay a lot for his broken son? Maybe enjoy the training I give? Reward me more? Pretty wouldn't be the first whose father enjoyed my training. Who wanted the pretty? He thank me."

Aya felt bile in his throat and tried not to vomit while he couldn't turn over. "You're sick," he finally croaked.

"Same result for me," the man said, chuckling again.

Aya cried out and tried to struggle as the man decided that the moment was the best time to start his torture. He was held down as a dirty hand roughly ran over his body and started to work the ties on his leather pants without preamble. This was the opposite of Yohji, who had lured Aya into a false sense of security, make his first time almost pleasurable, then after demanded more sex under the logic that they had already slept together once, so why not again. Eventually Aya had fought back and the consequent pain had almost made him run to his father, if Yohji hadn't been very convincing when he said his father could disown him, because after so long Aya was just asking for it. Being fifteen and guilty about giving his virginity before he was ready in the first place, he was ready to believe he deserved it. At least until Yohji had tried to sell him, and Aya has discovered that Ken from down the hall, who Aya had first kissed, had been the one to send Yohji in his direction out of fear of what the blond would do to Ken's ten year old brother. Aya never blamed Ken for keeping his brother safe.

"Yes, fight," the dirty man rasped in glee. "The more you fight, the better you are when broken."

Aya immediately stopped fighting. He cried hysterically, but stopped trying to fight back. The man wanted him to fight because it would hurt more and he wasn't about to give his captor that satisfaction.

"Brat," the man snarled, no longer gleeful. He sat up on Aya's hips, raising his fists to start beating his captive into compliance.

For a moment Aya though the first blow had been so bad he had been momentarily struck blind by a burst of light. It took him a moment longer to realize that he felt no pain and he didn't think the light would have been red and moving. He blinked for a second longer, clearing the tears to see better.

The man still had his fist raised to hit him, but his body was frozen as if turned to living stone with a shocked expression on his face. Then Aya looked down slowly and quickly turned away at the sight of burnt flesh and bone gaping from the head sized hole in the man's chest. Then the body slowly tipped over onto the ground.

Aya whimpered when a person emerged from the tree, a large gun confidently held in one hand. The person turned out to be a male, not much older than he was, wearing dark leather, and sporting thick dreadlocks on his head. His skin was mocha, he was tall and thin, with dark freckles on his face, and the most striking green eyes Aya had ever seen.

But he was also scary and dangerous and just killed the predator that kidnaped Aya from the middle of a crowded market with Teyla not two feet away, without making the dirty man aware of his presence.

The teen stepped forward and nudged the corpse with his boot just to be sure, then deftly put away his gun as he took out a large knife. Aya cried out, trying to get away as the dark teen knelt down beside him, but went still as the blade was thrust under his chin lightly.

"Still," the teen ordered, then moved, cutting the bindings from Aya's wrists.

Immediately Aya sat up, scrambling away until his back hit a tree, then he scrambled to his feet and ran. He didn't get far before he was tackled and tied again, but he would later be able to say he had tried to get away when one rapist had been killed by another for his prey.

"Shush," the teen snarled, flipping Aya onto his back, and he screamed and struggled, forcing the stranger to put his superior body weight over the redhead's smaller body. "Do you want every Wraith on the planet to come investigate your wailing?"

Aya stopped screaming, but couldn't stop his sobs. "Let me go," he begged, on the verge of a panic attack, which could make sure he'd be screaming with no control. "Please let me go. Please, I won't fight anymore. Please just let me go."

The teen scowled at him. "How long did the ass have you?" he asked, then shook his head, flipped Aya over again and cut the bindings. Then he hauled Aya to his feet and got him moving.

Close enough that Aya's screams could have drawn the teen to investigate, was a cave with an entrance low to the ground and hard to find, if the dark teen hadn't practically shoved Aya to his knees and into the entrance. The short dark passage opened to a larger cavern that was lit by a little lamp strategically placed so the light was not noticeable on the outside of the cave. Aya sat next to the lamp and tucked his knees under his chin, holding his legs to his chest as the dark teen squatted down on the other side of the lamp and took off his shirt. Aya started to cower away until the teen turned his back and picked up a broken bit of mirror to see as he tried to dig a knife into the scars already on his back.

"What are you doing?" Aya blurted before he could stop himself.

The dark teen turned his head to glare at him. "Shut up," he ordered and went back to what he was doing.

Aya started down at his feet for a few seconds, then looked up again to watch. There were many scars on the teens back; one in particular seemed to be lower than the teens reach. Staring at it, Aya realized it wasn't a scar but something under the skin. Curious, Aya crawled forward, cowering away when the dark teen turned abruptly, bearing his knife threateningly.

"I can reach it," Aya said, keeping low to the ground in submission.

The teen stared for a long moment, then grunted, flipping the knife over in his hand, holding it out hilt first. Aya was certain the knife would be used to kill him even before Aya would have been able to hurt the dark teen, if he were to try. Gingerly Aya took the knife, wiping it clean with his shirt.

"Do you have anything to sterilize the blade?" Aya asked, "Alcohol? Fire?" The dark teen glared, then turned his back with his hand on his gun. Aya sighed and carefully crawled forward and put his hand on the teens back to feel the ridge of the long hard object just under the skin. Carefully he took the tip of the knife and pressed it into the skin just next to the ridge and sliced the skin. After a while of careful cutting he said, "I'm Aya McKay."

The dark teen grunted. "Ronon Dex," he finally said.

"Thank you for saving my life Ronon," Aya said, setting the knife on his lap out of the dust and dug his fingers into the cut. "Even if you're going to do what he wanted."

Ronon turned sharply, hissing when the small cylinder was yanked from his shoulder. He grabbed Aya's hand, gripping hard. "I am not that," he hissed.

Aya stared at him and silently nodded. "Do you have something to close the wound? Or at least clean it?" he asked calmly.

Ronon stared at Aya for a long moment, then sighed before digging a small jar out of his pack. Aya opened the jar and sniffed, jerking away from the smell of strong alcohol. He carefully poured the make shift disinfectant to clean his cut and Ronon's before running his fingers gently in each wound to clean out any debris that might have been left behind. When he was done, Ronon handed him a bit of clean rag which Aya used to bind the wound.

"You need to have that stitched," Aya said as Ronon put back on his shirt and shifted the bandage. "There's a good doctor where I live."

Ronon looked over his shoulder. "There is still Wraith all over the place," he said, then crushed the tracker with his knife. "We need to move further from the gate and the body and wait a few days for them to go away. They'll think I finally killed myself, was killed, or somehow managed to get off planet now that they can't track me."

Aya nodded, swallowing hard at the prospect of having to spend several days with the teen. Despite the venomous assurance Ronon was not going to force himself on the younger teen, Aya was still uncertain. After all, Yohji said he wasn't going to either.

Ronon looked at Aya closely. "Are you sure it's wise to go back to your world?" he asked. "Did your parents sell you?"

Aya shook his head. "I was taken from the market," he answered, "Dad's probably freaking out right now. I'll never be allowed off world again."

"Then who, if not that guy?" Ronon asked.

Aya shook his head, "It doesn't matter; he can't touch me again."

"Is he dead?" Ronon asked with a gleam in his eye.

"He's very far away," Aya answered, "He can't come here. I'm safe from him. Besides, my dad knows now, and other scary people know now too. He wouldn't get further than the gate."

Ronon nodded, then he went out of the cave, leaving Aya alone for several moments. Just when Aya was thinking he was being left behind Ronon came back and stuffed the lamp in his pack before leading Aya out of the cave. Darkness had fallen, but Ronon seemed to know the way and was willing to allow Aya to clutch his arm. They slipped through the trees, stopping under a bush or a low hanging branch when a dart whizzed by overhead. There were no corresponding lights Aya had heard about indicating a dart had discovered them and soon the night was quiet except for the distant hum of a dart too far away to see.

Sometime around false dawn Ronon had Aya stop and hide under a bush as he rushed a small clearing of trees and vanished under a pile of rocks. Aya held his breath, thinking he had heard a dart nearby but knew it was his imagination. Then what seemed like an infinite time later Ronon appeared again and beckoned Aya over. The redhead rushed to the rocks, squirming underneath as the skin on his back crawled in fear. This cave entrance opened up quickly, being a result of a cave in that left a small opening near the bottom where a larger rock had fallen on a pile of spaced rocks. Again one would need to know what to look for to find it, so Ronon had obviously used this cave before.

"I hid here for three months once," Ronon said, lighting the lamp, and put it on a small hook. "It was in the fringes and there were no ships in the area, so it took them a while to find me and longer to get here. I rigged the fall to cover the entrance when I figured out my other hiding place was too close to the gate."

Aya nodded, noticing the carvings on the walls and what looked like shelves with hidden treasures Ronon must have kept here for safe keeping.

"I got lucky. I'd left before they got here, so they never discovered my hiding place," Ronon finished lighting more lights along the wall, then tucked a slab of rock over the entrance so the light couldn't be seen.

"Are you sure there aren't any other entrances?" Aya asked, looking around the fairly large room and found a pool of water fed by an underground stream. He could smell fresh air coming from that direction.

"Nothing easily used," Ronon said, "Or large enough for a Wraith."

Aya nodded, then looked down at his clothes. "Do you have another shirt? I need to wash mine of blood. I just need to wash, but I can wait."

"Go ahead and wash," Ronon said, digging a wrinkled shirt from his pack. "I'll find us food," he slipped out of the cave, pushing the stone in front of the entrance again.

Aya sighed, but quickly stripped and got in the frigid water, gasping as he went. He wouldn't stay long, but to be clean of blood and the feel of that man would be well worth the cold bath. He was just getting out of the water and flicking water off his skin as best he could with his hands he heard a sound.

"Hello?" Aya said softly, quickly putting the borrowed shirt on. It reached down to his knees so he was confident he was covered. Carefully, he stepped away from the stream and closer to the entrance, "Ronon?"

He jumped when there was another sound from another area. He peered in the dark, hoping he had not been thrust into a trap, and that he wasn't now left alone in the dark with a predator Ronon left him with. There was no reason to trust the teen, and there was every reason to believe Ronon was just another Yohji or Ken, a predator, or willing to sacrifice someone so he wasn't prey. Just when the sounds were starting to make Aya hyperventilate, the slab from the cave entrance was pushed aside and Ronon slid inside, dragging a brace of what looked like rabbits.

"What?" Ronon asked, seeing Aya standing in the middle of the cave dressed in only a shirt, looking terrified.

"There's something in here," Aya whispered. Ronon frowned, pushing the slab back with his foot. He set down the animals, then made a circuit of the room. Just when Ronon was finished, a small white furry creature jumped out of the darkness and onto Aya's back.

Aya screamed, spinning around in fright and fell to the ground. The creature jumped on his chest for a moment, chitterling angrily before jumping back into the shadows, its voice fading into the distance.

"Just a tree jumper," Ronon said, looking down at Aya, "Probably found a hollowed tree that led to an entrance and got curious."

Aya stared at the teen, willing his heart to stop pounding. "Is it dangerous?"

Ronon shrugged, then he gaze traveled down Aya's body.

Aya pushed down the shirt with a huff and got up to put back on his pants.

888

"I don't know the gate address to my home world," Aya admitted while they ate, "Or the one of the market."

"Where is your home world?" Ronon asked, carefully holding the bit of rabbit between his fingers, blowing on them to cool down.

Aya hesitated. "Atlantis," he said.

Ronon almost dropped his bit of meat. "You don't look like an ancestor."

Aya shook his head. "From how I understand it, the Ancients left Atlantis for unknown reasons, then went to my planet. The lines mixed, so there are some people who are descendants of the ancients, but most are just people. My dad isn't a descendant, but apparently my parents were."

Ronon frowned at that.

"My parents died when I was born, my dad adopted me a few days later," Aya explained. "I have to explain that a lot. I don't look much like him. My dad's Canadian, but my mother was Japanese and my father was French. Well, I'm Canadian, because dad's Canadian, but I've lived in many countries all my life."

Ronon's frown deepened. "Your worlds are very oddly named."

"They aren't worlds," Aya explained. "They're separate nations on my home planet. It's very far away. We don't even know if we'll ever see it again. So my dad refused to leave me behind."

Ronon nodded, that he could understand.

88

The monkey like creature came back to eat their scraps, then hung around to watch the two humans curiously. After a while Aya laid down on the ground with his arm under his head, body facing the low burning smokeless fire. He tensed when Ronon laid behind him and molded their bodies together, but quickly realized how cold he had been and how much warmer he was now they were sharing body heat. When he woke hours later the monkey had curled up against his belly, providing extra warmth.

They spent two days dozing and eating the remaining rabbits before Ronon left the cave again to check for Wraith and hunt for more food. Aya took another bath while the dark teen was gone, then sat around in the shirt while he waited for his pants to dry where he had given at least the crotch a quick wash. He named the monkey unimaginatively, Monkey, and amused himself by sliding pebbles across the hard ground, watching Monkey play with them. Finally, he fell asleep on his back with Monkey on his belly for warmth.

When he woke again Ronon was kissing him.

"No," Aya said, sitting up abruptly, and backed away. He stood quickly and shoved his feet into his dry pants. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you the impression…."

"I wouldn't have done anything without your permission," Ronon said defensively.

"Look, the first person I slept with raped me for three months," Aya said, panicking. "He made it so I will never trust someone's intentions again. He didn't hold me down like that guy, the first time he just…."

"Acted like a lover," Ronon said.

Aya sat down. "I'm sorry," he said. "That guy would have been my second encounter so I'm a little freaked out." He took a shuttered breath because he was attracted to Ronon, and he needed to make things clear so there would be no misunderstandings. "I had a friend. He was my first kiss. I mean that was it, we were just curious. Well, Yohji got a hold of him. And he did….what matters is Yohji wanted better, so he threatened to do the same to Ken's ten year old brother if he didn't find Yohji someone better. So he introduced us. He knew I was exactly what Yohji wanted, and he did it to save his brother. And Yohji, he was good. He was so good. He waited months as if he was saving himself for me. And when he finally had me, he didn't let me go. He made sure I thought my dad would hate me if he found out. And after my dad did find out and got him expelled from our school, he told the police I was a prostitute, blackmailing him with a video he shot. So I don't know you. I have to trust you weren't working with that guy and decided you didn't want to share. This could be what he meant by breaking. So forgive me if you freak me out."

Ronon stared for a long moment. Then he stood and headed for the entrance to the cave.

"But don't leave me alone," Aya cried. "I'm sorry. Please don't leave me."

"If you're going to fear me, how can I expect to get you to your home? Or at least off this planet?" Ronon asked, turning back. "How can I expect you to listen? I'm not going to force myself on you, but I understand why you would fear. The only way I know to solve that is to be intimate, but since that's the problem, I'm going to go scout again and see if we can make it back to the gate."

"Please don't leave," Aya said softly.

"You know what I'm going to want, if I stay," Ronon snapped. "By the ancestors. You're beautiful. I want you. I can't help myself. So I will remove myself from your presence to get rid of the temptation."

Aya pursed his lips together, trying to calm himself. "Please stay," he said softly.

"If I have you, I'll never let you go," Ronon warned one last time. "I'll kill anyone that tries to part us, or gets in my way."

"You won't hurt me," Aya said. "Rationally I know you've had plenty of time to force me. I'm smaller than you and obviously not as well trained. You could rape me and keep me your prisoner in this little cave and I'd never be able to escape. No one would ever find me because no one knows you have me." He gave a hysterical laugh, "You're leaving because I'm afraid. If I stay afraid, Yohji won. Even if it's one time, I can't let him win."

"I'm not sleeping with you because you want to prove you aren't damaged," Ronon said darkly.

"Then sleep with me because you want to," Aya answered. He looked around the cave, "Ok, maybe not right now because there is a major lack of bed and lube."

Ronon snorted and rolled his eyes. "Come here," he said, beckoning.

Aya took a deep breath and walked forward.

Ronon carefully wrapped an arm around Aya's waist, his hand resting just above the redhead's waistband. Carefully, he pressed Aya along his body, letting the smaller teen feel the bulge in his pants. Then slowly Ronon leaned closer and kissed him. Aya jerked, but held on, forcing his body to still. After a few moments, Ronon leaned back, then stepped away.

"We should eat before nightfall. I want to scout one last time," Ronon said, sitting and turning over the cooking rabbits Aya hadn't noticed before. "I think if we're lucky, we can leave tomorrow morning. I know a few markets we can check to see, if your people are searching for you."

Aya sighed and sat down across the fire. Instantly Monkey was curled up on his lap.

"The little beast is going to follow you forever now," Ronon pointed out.

"And get more action than you," Aya answered darkly.

"You said you wanted a bed," Ronon pointed out. "The faster we leave this place, the sooner you may have your bed. Unless you would rather…."

"Do you have any idea how cold and hard this ground is?" Aya complained in a perfect imitation of his father. "Oh god, dad is going to kill me. He's never going to allow…. Any of it! He'll…. He'll think I lied before. He'll…"

"Do no such thing," Ronon said quickly. "He will want you happy and protected."

Aya blinked, then held his breath for a moment before letting it out slowly. "He'll think I got Stockholm syndrome and be all sympathetic. Sleeping with my captor. They'll imprison you or shoot you before I can explain you rescued me."

Ronon shrugged, "If I die, I die free."

Aya gave Ronon a look. "You sound like this guy I met. He's apparently said the same thing."

Ronon laughed.

888

On the eighth day Rodney resigned to the fact that there were people out there looking for his son, and it would be a long time before they gave up, but he had work to do. They suspended all trading for the moment until they could come up with better security, but still needed to find a ZPM if they ever wanted to communicate with Earth again. Besides, working on something kept Rodney from imagining what the bastards were doing to his little boy.

He had never prayed before, but he was praying now to whoever would listen that his son was still his son when he was found.

SGA-1 arrived on the planet with moderate farming and a rumor of a lot of strange artifacts that could be found. He was hoping there was something important to Atlantis that could be used that either didn't have to be bartered for, or that wasn't critical to something on this planet. That had happened twice already and no matter how much he wanted, Rodney knew deep down they couldn't just take and run. He only made token protests because it was expected on him; of his team at least Sheppard knew he wasn't really putting up a fight.

He followed the navigational reading he was getting on his scanner, and sighed when he realized it was facing the direction of the well-worn path to the village.

"Ok, let's go," John said, holding his P-90 loosely, and followed Rodney up the path with Ford and Teyla close behind.

Rodney frowned at the reading as they got closer to the village. He could hear voices now and his heart almost broke at the sound of a boy calling to his father.

Wait a second.

Rodney stopped and looked up, then dropped the scanner in shock as he caught sight of Aya running down the path, calling to him. He blinked a few times, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't dreaming, up until the small body plowed into his.

"Dad!" Aya said, hugging his father tightly. "How did you find me? We've only been here a few hours."

Rodney hugged his son for all he was worth, then pushed him back to inspect him for any damage. Other than a few bruises, and a pair of dark abrasions on his wrists, Aya seemed unharmed, if not clean, and was wearing strange clothes. Then the rest caught up to him.

"We?" John asked beside them.

Aya smiled cheerfully and turned, pointing further down the road where another teenager stood, looking slightly nervous, "Ronon saved me. We were stuck hiding from the Wraith in a cave for a few days, then we've been going from planet to planet, trying to find any one that might know where a team is. We were just heading to the gate to try another world when I saw you walking up the path."

"But you're alright?" Rodney asked, still uncertain. "He didn't hurt you? You weren't hurt."

"Ronon has been very good to me," Aya told his father, "He killed the creep that kidnaped me before he could do anything more than be really handsy. And I really need to stop hanging out with Graham and Xander."

"Oh," Rodney said.

Teyla stepped forward, "I am very pleased to hear you are unhurt." She said, forgoing her people's form of a hug for a more intimate one. "I was very worried."

"It wasn't your fault Teyla," Aya said, hugging back, "He had me before I could even blink. I don't remember much after than until I woke up on the other planet." He stepped away and turned again to introduce Ronon to the others and frowned, when he noticed the teen was gone. "Ronon?"

"Let's go," Rodney insisted before Aya could look far. "Beckett will want to look you over and for once I don't protest against voodoo."

"But Ronon wouldn't leave me," Aya said, still looking down the path. "He promised."

"Aya," Rodney said. "I'm sure that now you're safe, he'll want to be on his way."

"But he promised," Aya said, breaking away and headed up the path again. "And he has my things and Monkey is with him. And, oh I got a surprise I found on that planet. But I have to find Ronon."

"Find me where?" Ronon asked, appearing from the tree line, carrying a squirming creature in his arms. "You're little beast decided to inspect the wildlife."

"You have to stay close Monkey," Aya told the creature, taking it from Ronon to place it on his shoulder. "What would happen if I left you behind?"

"You'd come back," Ronon said, rolling his eyes.

Aya smiled at the taller teen and turned to his father, who looked shocked again. "Ronon, this is my dad, Doctor Rodney McKay. He's a research doctor, not a medical doctor. And the guy with the hair is Major John Sheppard, and the other guy is Lt. Aidan Ford. And the nice lady is the Athosian Teyla I- can't-pronounce -her-last -name. Guys, this is Ronon Dex from Sateda."

Rodney started for a long moment, then shook his head. "You're kidding," he said and stared back down the path. "Of all the cavemen, he has to be the supermodel."

"What?" Ronon asked, confused.

"I don't know," Aya said, "I think I broke him." He bent down and picked up the forgotten scanner before hurrying after his father.

Ronon looked at the others for answers, then shrugged and followed.

Rodney was still grumbling when they arrived back to a shocked Atlantis, not surprising since Aya was obviously alive and well, but his father was just as obviously pissed off about something. Then Ronon came through the gate just before John and half the Gateroom had "oh" expressions before returning to work.

"Dad, don't you want to know what I brought back for you?" Aya asked, following his father down the hall toward the labs.

"Unless it's a ZedPM I don't want to hear it at the moment," Rodney called over his shoulder.

"How about three?" Aya asked, taking the bag from Ronon's shoulder.

Ronon almost ran into the door of the lab. Staring at the panel for a moment he slowly turned, "Three?"

Aya smiled and set down his bag gently before digging out a glowing chunk of crystal. "See?" he said and took out another, and another. "I got bored and started searching the cave we were hiding in and this part of the wall opened up when I got near it. I guess because of my gene. So we explored it and I found a room full of these things and other neat stuff."

Rodney stared at his child in disbelief. "Was this before or after you started sleeping with the Neanderthal?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Aya looked amused, an expression Rodney had not seen on his child in months. "Well, we have been sleeping, but there's no sex involved in sleeping."

Rodney made a grab for the ZPM he nearly dropped, "You are so grounded. And so not sharing a room with the cave man."

Aya still looked amused at his father.

Rodney grumbled under his breath. He turned to the lab, carrying the crystals in his arms to analyze before plugging them into the city. "Nothing public," he said over his shoulder

Aya grinned wider.

Rodney McKay was a lot of things, but he would never deny his son anything.

Not even happiness.

End.

888

a/n: yes I know that Ronon is much older in cannon, but Aya is sixteen and I'm not really into writing about cradle robbers unless the younger is at least 18. Also remember this is AU so most events are really off from cannon.

When trying to think of how to write a sequel V suggested writing about how it is that Graham and Xander ended up on the Atlantis expedition. Which is a really good idea which I'm stuck on at the moment. But I will get there, even if it takes forever. I've been really bad at updates.

P.S. anyone that's been reading Weiss Xander please note that the full version of Weiss Xander, Sacred Twins, and the first bit of Key Secrets is on Twisting the Hellmouth under the same penname. I will likely not be updating WK here until I've completed the edit. In fact I'm a lot further on Key Secrets that is actually posted. But now that I have a printer editing might be faster than originally thought.

Remember to R&R- Eva


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